Have you recently been accused of assault with a deadly weapon in California? This is a violation of California Penal Code, section 254 and can carry significant consequences if you are convicted. It’s imperative to retain the services of an experienced criminal defense attorney in Orange County immediately.
Your assault with a deadly weapon charges could be filed as a misdemeanor or a felony and depending on how the crime is categorized, you could be looking at fines as high as $10,000 and up to 4 years in prison. California also has a three strikes law in place and a felony conviction for assault with a deadly weapon can count as a strike under this law. If a protected person, such as a police officer or an automatic weapon was involved in your assault with a deadly weapon situation, felony conviction will significantly increase the chances of punishment.
Even if you are granted probation in an assault with a deadly weapon case, you could be required to make restitution to the victim to have your weapons confiscated by the government and to go through anger management classes. If you are not a U.S. citizen, you face deportation and if convicted of a felony, you could lose your right to own a gun overall. The prosecutors must prove several elements beyond a reasonable doubt in order to convict you of assault with a deadly weapon. This includes;
- That you committed an assault on another person,
- That you did so with intent to harm or did so willfully,
- You did so while in possession of a firearm or deadly weapon, and
- Did so with force likely to produce death or serious bodily injury.
Retaining an experienced criminal defense attorney is crucial when you have been accused of assault with a deadly weapon.
